Apple Watch Series 10 now expected to get a major new health feature

By Bryan M. Wolfe September 6, 2024

A person checking the fitness data on an Apple Watch Series 9. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 at Monday’s iPhone 16 event. We’ve heard little beyond hardware speculation about these watches — untilnow. Today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that both watches may have a sleep apnea detection feature. If accurate, it would be the first time an Apple wearable device has offered this functionality.

Those suffering from sleep apnea experience repeated breathing stops and starts during sleep. This leads to poor sleep quality and a range of health problems. Unfortunately, it’s hard for a person actually to know that they are suffering from this disorder. Detecting sleep apnea makes it much easier for health care providers to diagnose and determine the best course of treatment.

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Gurman notes that although Apple might announce a sleep apnea feature for the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, the actual feature might not be available at launch. Previous rumors have suggested that Apple has also been working on monitoring blood glucose and high blood pressure for future wearables. However, neither of those features is expected to be released anytime soon.

The Apple Watch already offers numerous health-related features, such as detecting irregular heart rates and low blood oxygen levels. It would be logical to add a tool for monitoring sleep apnea. The Apple Watch Series 10 is also expected to have a new design that includes larger displays, different materials, and more.

Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event starts at 10 a.m. PT on Monday. You can stream the event through the Apple website, Apple TV, YouTube, and X. In addition to the iPhone 16 series and new Apple Watches, the company might announce new AirPods, iPads, and more.

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Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Mobile

Sleep apnea detection is now available for these two Apple Watches

Activating Siri on the Apple Watch Series 9.

Last week, during the "It's Glowtime" event, Apple announced that sleep apnea tracking would arrive on the Apple Watch as soon as it received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. That approval has now arrived, and as such, the sleep apnea feature is rolling out to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 today as part of the watchOS 11 update. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 10 will have the feature when it launches this Friday.

Apple's sleep apnea feature works by using the new Breathing Disturbances metric. It takes advantage of the accelerometer in your Apple Watch to track how often you're moving around during the night. These movements can indicate an interruption in sleep, and the count is analyzed every 30 days. The Watch will notify users if consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea are shown.

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Will my Apple Watch get watchOS 11? Here’s every supported model

The Palette watch face on the Apple Watch Series 9.

It's time to update your Apple Watch, because a new version of watchOS is here. Snappily named watchOS 11, Apple's newest wearable operating system may not have the Apple Intelligence it's pushing for iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, but it does have plenty of fitness-tracking enhancements, new live widgets, and smarter delivery of health stats through the new Vitals app. Before today, you would have had to sign up to a (somewhat) risky beta to try out these new features -- but that's no longer the case. No, now watchOS 11 has hit its full public release, and it is a thing of beauty.

But that doesn't matter if you're not sure if your Apple Watch will be getting the update or not. After all, while every piece of technology is new once, there comes a time when even the shiniest of silicon is sent out to the pastures to enjoy retirement. So, will your Apple Watch be getting watchOS 11 or not? Find out here.
Which Apple Watch models support watchOS 11?

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When will my Apple Watch get watchOS 11? Here’s everything we know

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Series 8, seen from the side.

If you have an Apple Watch, you need to be ready for watchOS 11 Apple's next big software update for its smartwatches. Though watchOS 11 doesn't have Apple Intelligence, it still has a ton of new features, including more customization for Activity Rings, overnight vitals, training load tracking, and much more.

But when will you be able to check out watchOS 11? Here's everything you need to know about the watchOS 11 release date.
watchOS 11's release date